Hello lovely readers! I know it’s been forever since my last post. Life is busy! When I don’t have a lot of time for experimenting in the kitchen, there a few vegan blogs that I know I can rely on for something quick and yummy. One of those that I’ve loved for a while is Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. This is a recipe of Susan’s that I tweaked to accommodate what I had on hand in the house, and it turned out delicious. I had a lot of cilantro in the fridge that needed to be used so I used that instead of basil, and walnuts instead of almonds, which I prefer in pesto anyway. This is much lower fat than traditional pesto too, since the creaminess of the eggplant replaces the need for any oil. And the best part is that it can be used as a dip, sandwich spread, or as an addition to pasta, and all busy vegans can appreciate foods with multiple uses!

More recipes to come soon. My spring CSA share starts next month so I’ll soon have more veggies than I know what to do with!

I’ve been so lazy lately, working 6 days a week and pretty burnt out, I haven’t really felt like cooking too much when I get home. Even though being in the kitchen is therapeutic and relaxing for me, sometimes I just want to be a bum, watch 30 Rock, and not worry about dinner too much. So I made this super easy dip tonight, and it works for lunch tomorrow too!

I had these fancy Italian cannellini beans lying around that my friend gave me when she was moving out of her apartment, so I finally put them to good use. And it’s asparagus season! I got a good bunch at the coop last week that I had to use. So here’s what I whipped up.

Makes about 3 cups

1 1/4 cup dry cannellini beans (soaked overnight)

10 stalks asparagus

1 clove garlic

juice of 1/2 lemon

half a 12 oz jar of marinated artichokes

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped and the seeds removed

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

3 tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

Boil the cannellini beans in a pot with a pinch of salt until they’re soft (about 30 minutes)

Meanwhile, cut off the tough parts of your asparagus and cook in a pot of boiling water with salt until they’re tender (about 10 minutes.) Remove from heat, run under cold water, and chop up into smaller pieces to put in the processor.

Add beans, asparagus, and remaining ingredients into the processor (I also added a couple swigs of the marinated artichoke oil for some extra flavor since I didn’t have enough garlic.)

Voila!

This would be great with just veggies or pita chips. I didn’t have much in the fridge so I just had it on some corn tortillas with some fresh baby spinach. Simple but awesome!